Dan and Debbie Willoughby - South Africa

The Willoughby's are one of four couples with a leadership role of the Thandanani Project.

Thandanani is a Zulu word meaning “love one another.” This is a new outreach into areas of dire poverty, people dying of AIDS, and the orphans they leave behind. It is estimated that South Africa will have 5 million AIDS orphans by 2015.

Their goal is to strengthen African churches to multiply and to enable them to function as orphan care centers. They are training the adults in Bible knowledge, teaching skills, evangelism, and youth ministry. Other goals are to find and train foster parents and starting some cottage industries, home-based things so that the children (and adults) can get some kind of training and be self-supporting.

A new church “Living Hope Community Church” has been started with South Africans, refugees from neighboring countries and Americans. They have a mercy ministry named “I Hope,” and have plans to start both a Baby House for abandoned babies, and a refugee house, especially for young men who are on their own, mostly orphans, or whose families cannot (or will not) care for them. They work with five orphanages in the Pretoria/Johannesburg area, offering food and clothing when funds are available. At Christmas all five orphanages receive Christmas dinners for all residents, with small gifts for each of the orphans. Mission Committee Contact Elaine Dunbar can be contacted through the VPC Office email, VPC-office@valleypres.net